What is this? Brandes has the answer below.
Story by Brandes Elitch
A series of unfortunate events transpired to seal the fate of Citroën’s SM.
Reflections on the SM Part 2
the citroen years
Remembering the Citroën SM on its 50th
This year at Retromobile, Hugues Vanhoolandt photographed a rare example of the SM on display. Heuliez, a coachbuilder, produced two examples of the SM “Espace,” which is a pillarless targa top convertible. The rear quarter windows do retract into the bodywork, unlike the SM.
By Brandes Elitch
All photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt unless otherwise marked.
“That the car was a moonshot didn’t concern our judges. Rather it invigorated them. Viewed in the perspective of the last 21 years, the SM fits more precisely in the spirit of the COTY, maybe better, than anything else being made in the world today.”
Book Review: Maserati: the Citroën Years 1968 to 1975
This is the V8 minus 2 cylinders, which Maserati cut and used in-house for internal study in the late sixties before starting with a clean sheet of paper for the actual SM engine. You can recognize that it is off a traditional Maserati V8 because the chain is at one end of the block whereas in the SM engine the chain is in the middle. This one-off prototype engine had never been seen before and was at the root of countless misunderstandings for decades.
Review by Wallace Wyss
If ever there was a “forgotten era” of GT cars it is the era from 1968 through 1975 when Maserati, one of Italy’s premier GT car builders, went through a number of dire changes.
Basically the Italian firm was bought by Citroen and then, seven years later, sold off to De Tomaso who had become enriched by selling Ghia to Ford while simultaneously supplying the Pantera to Ford. Plus De Tomaso had government help in buying Maserati because the Italian government was anxious to save jobs. [Read more…] about Book Review: Maserati: the Citroën Years 1968 to 1975